Check this out! Our writers pick the best for the weekend.
The International Microcinema Film Festival, tonight through Sunday at Cutting Hall for the Performing Arts, 150 E. Wood St., Palatine. Admission $5 with an all-fest package for $59 (not including the awards brunch Sunday). Call Theatre Nebula at (847) 359-9378, or go to www.microcinemafest.com.
The fest, now in its seventh year (second year at Cutting Hall), will show shorts and features covering drama, comedy, sci-fi, horror, action and documentary genres from as far away as Japan and New Zealand.
-- Dann Gire, film critic
The Flash Gordon Marathon, 7 p.m. Saturday at the Stage One Theater in the Old Masonic Temple Building, 620 Lee St., Des Plaines. Tickets cost $15 with discounts for seniors, students and children. Tickets previously purchased for the postponed marathon last month will be honored. (312) 550-7283.
To benefit the Des Plaines Theater Preservation Society, all 12 chapters of the 1940s Buster Crabbe science fiction serial will be shown.
-- Dann Gire, film critic
"Showcase," 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Centre East Theatre, 9501 N. Skokie Blvd., Skokie. $40. (847) 679-9501, ext. 3304, or www.centreeast.org.
Trying to book entertainment for a party or fundraiser? Or for your school or library? Meet more than 200 performers and see as many as 40 live acts at this event, which is sort of a mega-talent show. The Chicago Human Rhythm Project, pictured, performs tap dance, while a BMX biker, historic storytellers, Russian dancers, a steel drum band and a troupe that performs Brazilian dance and fight moves also do their things. As a plus, many of the acts impart positive messages to children.
--Pam DeFiglio, staff writer
"Dann & Raymond's Movie Club," 7:30 p.m. today at the Schaumburg Township District Library, 130 S. Roselle Road, Schaumburg. Free admission. (847) 985-4000 or www.stdl.org.
Former James Bond novelist Raymond Benson of Buffalo Grove joins me to present a movie discussion/lecture series subtitled, "In the Library, No One Can Hear You Scream!," an overview of the horror film from the silent era through the 1930s.
-- Dann Gire, film critic
"Mexican Everyday," 6:30 p.m. Friday, Sur la Table, 55 S. Main St., Naperville. $75. (630) 428-1110.
Learn how to make recipes from "Mexican Everyday" by award-winning Chicago chef/restaurateur Rick Bayless in this hands-on class. Recipes from another Bayless book, "Mexico: One Plate at a Time," will be tackled 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
-- Deborah Pankey, food
editor
The 11th Annual Hideout Block Party, begins 5 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave., Chicago. $25. (773) 227-4433 or www.hideoutchicago.com.
Summer may unofficially end Labor Day weekend, but to music lovers, the season really draws to a close with this annual outdoor blowout, located in Chicago's industrial corridor. This is one of the festival's strongest years, featuring U.K. indie rockers Bloc Party plus Chicago alt-fiddler/whistler Andrew Bird. Fans of the Irish independent film "Once" will have a chance to catch leading man Glen Hansard and his band The Frames play an afternoon set Saturday. Visit the Hideout's Web site for a full lineup.
-- Mark Guarino, music critic
Giving Garden Day, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake-Cook Road, just east of the Edens Expressway in Glencoe; (847) 835-5440 or www.chicagobotanic.org.
This event, sponsored by the Daily Herald, features demonstrations on how to plant extra vegetables to give to the needy in your community. Admission is free. Regular parking fees (starting at $15 per car) apply.
-- Matt Arado, staff writer